Popular political activist from Colorado, murdered in Atlanta, remembered at vigil

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EDGEWATER, Colo. – A political and civil rights activist who was murdered in her Atlanta home last month was remembered Saturday evening as a fighter and friend.

Cathy Montoya was originally from Colorado. She attended Aurora Central and later graduated from CU Boulder.

Montoya was active in the LGBT community and cared deeply about politics and civil rights issues. She described herself as a ‘Queer Chicana Korean Feminist (and Broncos Fan)’.

In April, Montoya was inside her Atlanta home waiting for a delivery. She left her front door unlocked. Police say a man named Donte Wyatt broken into Montoya’s home about 30 minutes after he stabbed his estranged wife.

Once he made his way into the home, Wyatt brutally murdered Montoya. The crime has been described as ‘random’ by detectives. Wyatt was later arrested and charged in Montoya’s murder.

On Saturday, Montoya’s friends and family gathered at Sloan’s Lake in Edgewater to remember the woman they described as ‘remarkable’.

As a kid, Joe Montoya said his daughter was shy, but eventually blossomed into a spunky, beautiful flower.

“I loved her smile,” he said. “She was so warm and loved to hug everyone. She probably gave more than a million hugs”.

Montoya described his daughter as a tom boy growing up. She loved to fish, hike and spend a lot of time with her dad. Eventually, she told her father she was a lesbian.

“I had a very conservative Republican household and raised a very ultra-liberal Democrat,” Joe Montoya said.

Despite their political differences, Joe loved his daughter with all his heart. Cathy even got her father to shift his political beliefs. She wasn’t just a good person, Joe said. Cathy was the best.

“And that’s what I’ll carry with me forever that she was best friends with thousands of people,” Joe Montoya said.